Chapter 3 - The Secret Maya Had Kept Was Bigger Than a ChildThe police searched the house.
Nothing was stolen.
Nothing was broken except the window.
That scared Ethan more.
It meant the intruder hadn't come to take something.
He had come to ask a question.
About him.
About Noah.
About Maya.
Ethan hired additional protection.
Maya refused at first.
He ignored her.
“You can't protect Noah alone anymore.”
“I've done it for three years.”
“And now someone knows.”
She stared.
“You think your security will fix this?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Me.”
She almost smiled.
“You're still arrogant.”
“I know.”
“That hasn't changed.”
“Neither have you.”
She looked away.
“I have.”
He knew she was right.
Maya had once been warm.
Not weak.
Never weak.
But warm.
She had believed people could be trusted if you loved them enough.
Their marriage had destroyed that belief.
Ethan remembered the end.
He had been ambitious.
Impatient.
Obsessed with building his company.
Maya had wanted him to slow down.
He had accused her of holding him back.
He had told her Victoria understood him better.
He had filed for divorce.
Now the memory made him sick.
One week after the security incident, Maya received another message.
The files. Give them back.
Ethan read it.
“What files?”
She hesitated.
Then brought him to her study.
Behind a row of books was a locked cabinet.
She opened it.
Inside were documents.
Bank statements.
Contracts.
Photographs.
A USB drive.
Ethan picked up the first file.
Caldwell Holdings.
His father's signature.
Large transfers.
Offshore accounts.
He looked at Maya.
“Why did you keep this?”
“Because I thought one day you'd need to know.”
“Why didn't you show me?”
“Because you were still grieving.”
“My father had already died.”
“Exactly.”
“You thought I couldn't handle the truth.”
“I thought you wouldn't believe me.”
He stared at the documents.
One transfer appeared repeatedly.
To a company called Westbridge Capital.
“Who owns it?”
“I don't know.”
“You didn't find out?”
“I tried.”
She handed him another folder.
“I hired someone.”
Ethan looked inside.
Private investigator reports.
Then he saw a name.
Victoria Hart.
His blood went cold.
“Why is Victoria here?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you investigate her?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before the divorce.”
“Why?”
“Because she started appearing around your father.”
Ethan felt sick.
“My father knew Victoria?”
“They knew each other.”
“No.”
Maya looked at him.
“You didn't know?”
“No.”
He grabbed his phone.
Called his father's former attorney.
“Did my father know Victoria Hart?”
Silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“How?”
“She worked with a consulting group connected to him.”
“What kind?”
“Financial.”
Ethan hung up.
Maya watched.
“I told you.”
“Why did Victoria never mention him?”
“I don't know.”
Ethan stared at the documents.
The next day he confronted Victoria.
She was furious.
“You're investigating me?”
“I found your name in my father's files.”
Her face changed.
“What files?”
“Don't.”
He placed the documents on the table.
She read them.
Then sat.
“My father knew you.”
Victoria was quiet.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He hired my company.”
“What company?”
“Before I met you.”
“You knew about the money.”
“I knew there were accounts.”
“And you didn't tell me.”
“You didn't tell me about Maya.”
“That isn't the same.”
“I was protecting you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Victoria looked at him.
“Because it's true.”
“What are you hiding?”
She cried.
“I loved you.”
“Answer me.”
She swallowed.
“Your father asked me to keep an eye on Maya.”
Ethan froze.
“Why?”
“Because he suspected she knew about the accounts.”
“My father wanted her watched?”
“Yes.”
“And you did it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He paid me.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
Ethan stepped back.
He felt betrayed.
“You married me.”
“I fell in love with you.”
“And all this?”
“I didn't know about the child.”
“You didn't tell me you knew Maya was investigating my father.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That you'd choose her.”
There it was.
Not love.
Possession.
Ethan left.
That night he found Maya on the porch.
“You were right.”
She looked at him.
“About?”
“Victoria.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“You've been lied to.”
“Yes.”
“We both have.”
“Yes.”
He sat beside her.
“How much did you suffer?”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I wasn't there.”
“You didn't know.”
“But I should have.”
She remained silent.
“I want to know everything.”
“You may not like it.”
“I don't care.”
Maya handed him a photograph.
It showed her in a hospital bed.
Newborn Noah beside her.
She looked exhausted.
Alone.
There was no one else in the room.
Ethan's throat closed.
“What happened?”
“I almost died.”
“What?”
“Complications.”
“You didn't tell me.”
“You'd chosen Victoria.”
His eyes filled.
“Maya.”
“I called you once.”
“When?”
“The day Noah was born.”
He stared.
“My number was blocked.”
Ethan froze.
“I didn't block you.”
She looked at him.
“I know.”
That sentence was worse than anything else.
Someone had blocked his wife.
Someone had kept his child from him.
And now he knew it hadn't happened by accident.
May you like
Someone had wanted Ethan separated from Maya.
And Victoria was only one piece of the puzzle.
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